The Children of Desperation
by AngelGirl569
Summary: A series of oneshots. The world gets a little bit darker when you start to grow up. Some kids learn that the hard way.


**So I dug up these old oneshots I wrote for a potential Arthur story many years ago, cleaned them up, and decided to post them. This probably won't lead to a full blown story but who knows. Leave reviews, I'd love to hear what you all think of these writings from six years ago. **

**Please note that the characters are older in this story. Prunella is about 17 or 18, DW is about 13 or 14, just to give an example of the age range. There are some implied sexual situations but nothing explicit.**

* * *

"I don't know about this, Sue Ellen." Brain pulled at the collar of his polo nervously. "This isn't really my kind of thing."

She stopped pulling him towards the line and stood facing him, hands on her hips. "Brain, you are coming to this party and that is final! And I don't want to hear any complaints when you end up having the time of your life, you hear me?" She glared in mock-seriousness. He sighed, rolling his eyes. Sue Ellen smiled wide and grabbed his hand. He blushed at the sudden contact, but she was oblivious as she led him up to the front doors.

The burly guard glanced at them and held up a hand, eyes on his clipboard. "Woah there little lady, you and your friend are going to have to wait in the back like everyone else."

"Gary, it's me."

The guy looked up with a mischievous grin. "Eh, I was just teasing you. Go right on in, Sue Ellen." Like magic, the door opened. Brain watched, astounded, as Sue Ellen and the guard exchanged pleasantries, laughed at an inside joke, and finally waved goodbye.

She walked ahead of him as usual, leading him by the hand. Brain hurried to keep up until he finally got close enough to mutter in her ear, "What the hell just happened?"

"Language, Brain," Sue Ellen chided. "Let's just say he's an old friend of mine. You'll meet a lot of them tonight."

He nodded, not understanding one bit of it. They walked down a long hallway painted black. A few dusty light bulbs hung from the ceiling but did next to nothing to light their way. Brain asked if she was sure that this was a nightclub and not just someone's basement. She only laughed. It was then that he heard it. The music, coming in through the walls, through his mind, through his heart. The beat vibrating in his chest till his bones ached. They stood in front of an ordinary black curtain but he could hear muffled noises of a party going on mere inches from where they stood.

Sue Ellen grinned at him coyly. "Ready?"

He nodded curtly. The curtain was pulled back, and the night began.

The hours passed in a blur. Brain couldn't remember the last time he had danced like this, if ever. He had lost all concept of what time it could be or where that black curtain they had originally entered through was. All he knew was that once that curtain had been pulled back, he had immediately been sucked into a whole new world. Sue Ellen had laughed with glee and pulled him deep into the throng of people that filled the room. A DJ could be seen in the distance on an elevated platform. Blue and green and purple lights swirled and strobed at random. All around him, people danced with abandon. But despite all these distractions, Brain couldn't keep his eyes off of Sue Ellen.

Her curls swirled through the air as she danced. Her hips swayed with the beat and her hands never ceased moving, whether it was clapping for the DJ or performing intricate dances of their own as she danced. Brain was envious of how free she was, how little worries seemed to rest on those thin shoulders of hers. He admired how she could handle any situation with finesse, whether it was refusing a drink or diffusing a fight.

He was an awkward dinosaur compared to her.

* * *

The classroom was abuzz with the sound of students chatting, enjoying a last minute snack, or frantically trying to finish their homework before the teacher walked in. A group of jocks were having a chest bumping contest in one aisle while cliques gossiped in corners. Everyone else just milled about aimlessly. Jenna hummed thoughtfully as she thumbed through her paperback Harry Potter. Her various gal pals gossiped nearby. How she wished her life could be as exciting as it was for the students of Hogwarts...but she was just plain old Jenna, stuck with her messy blonde bob, pale skin, and clothes that would make a nun proud.

"Um, Jenna?" She looked up to see George, wearing another one of his plaid shirts.

"Hi George!" she smiled at him sweetly.

"Uh, hey..." he scratched his head nervously. "So, um, I was wondering if you would maybe, um.."

She raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Yes?"

"Consider going out with me this Friday night to Chez Elwood." He spoke quickly and with purpose, then cringed slightly as if expecting a physical response.

Jenna was speechless. George, one of her oldest friends, asking her out? Here, in school? In front of everyone? She opened her mouth to say something but found herself overtaken by a nervous breathlessness.

"Woah, what?" Muffy inserted herself between the two, forcing George to take a step back. She held up a hand as though to halt the situation and turned to Jenna incredulously. "Jenna, you're not seriously considering going out with this dork, are you?" Molly's other friends turned to regard the situation with obvious disdain.

"I, uh," The words were escaping her. What was she supposed to say? She was so on the spot, everyone staring at her like this! George turned and walked away, his head drooped in disappointment. The girls spun around to face her.

"You so owe us!" Muffy laughed. "I mean, George? He'd probably spend the whole time talking about wood and birds or some stupid crap like that!" Still crowing with laughter, the girls walked away.

Jenna stared at George's retreating figure. She felt her chest tighten with a deep sense of remorse. George was one of her oldest friends. Taking a deep breath, Jenna stood and clutched her book to her chest with shaking hands.

"George."

He looked up at her with surprise. "Jenna...hey."

Jenna smiled nervously. "Would you like to get dinner with me on Friday night?"

George gaped at her for a moment before breaking into a grin. "Um, yeah! We could, um, yeah!" He nodded in eager acceptance. Jenna felt her heart began racing at the sight of him. Why had she never noticed what a wonderful smile he had? She looked up to see Muffy and her squad of tagalongs gaping at her in disdainful shock.

Oh well. Jenna had a date to prepare for.

* * *

"David, we need to talk." Jane Read sighed sadly and looked down at the table.

Her husband clasped her hand encouragingly. "Sure, what do you need to talk about?"

"It's my job."

He frowned and scooted closer to her. "What about your job? It pays well, your coworkers are nice, you get great health care -"

"It's not that, the job is fantastic," She said, "My branch hasn't been that productive in terms of customers and money. The board warned me that if things don't work out, they will be forced to fire me and my entire branch!" Jane sobbed, and her husband automatically rushed forward to hug her.

"Shush, it's going to be ok..."

She wiped away her tears with a sniffle. "What's even worse is that I can blame it all on someone who I thought was our friend."

David's brow creased with worry. "Who? None of our friends would ever do something this nasty. Besides, all of them have good jobs already."

Jane shook her head. "Ed Crosswire bought the company last month. He abolished their 'No Layoffs' policy, and now we're all frantically trying to earn enough to keep us employed. But who needs an accountant in October?"

He was dumbstruck. "Ed? But we've been friends for years! I can't believe this..." He turned to her suddenly. "What should we tell the kids?"

Jane's eyes widened in fear. "We can't tell them anything! Arthur might be able to handle it, but DW and Kate are still so young. They could tell their friends, get scared, start rumors..."

"You're right, we won't say anything. But what if you do get laid off? My catering business hasn't been doing well ever since Crosswire Caterers began serving more than Muffy's birthday parties." His face fell. "The best option for our family is that I go work for Crosswire Caterers."

She clutched his arm. "Don't do it! He's an awful boss, and he won't do anyone any favors. Please sweetie, don't do this."

David hesitated, then nodded grudgingly. "Fine, I won't. But if you do lose your job, I'm applying for a job at Crosswire Caterers."

She nodded reluctantly. "I can accept that."

"It's a good thing the kids don't know about this."

"We'll tell them about it if - and only if - I do get laid off. No sense worrying them."

"And they never will, because it will never get that bad."

He kissed her sweetly. They hugged tightly, but it did nothing to quell their fears for the future. Unbeknownst to them, a teenage boy had been listening to their entire conversation. He had crouched behind the wall, unseen, and listened to every word. He now stood, grabbed his bag, and called,

"I'm going out. Bye mom, dad." Arthur closed the door behind him and walked away from the house deep in thought.

* * *

DW scurried behind the wall feeling as though someone was going to jump out at her any second. But no one did, giving her permission to let out a sigh of relief. She turned to find herself face to face with a tall, mischievous boy.

"Eek!" She jumped back and came close to screaming until she realized who it was. "Tim! Don't scare me like that," she fumed, giving him a playful shove.

Tim Tibble leaned back to his full height and laughed. "DW, you crack me up. There's nothing to be scared of, trust me." He adjusted the blue bandana adorning his neck and gave her a sheepish half smile. "Sorry about that..."

She glared at him and crossed her arms, pretending to be angry. "Sorry won't cut it! I'm going to need a pretty darn good reason to let you off the hook this time, mister!"

Leaning against the wall with one arm, he cupped her face with his free hand and planted a kiss on her lips. After a minute (or many, many minutes) of enjoying each other's company, they walked back to the cafeteria, hand in hand.

They paused by the next to the closed doors, parting hands with sorrow. Tim glanced around quickly to check that the coast was clear. They kissed once more, a quick, sweet kiss that said more than either of them could manage yet in their immature adolescence. They then went into the cafeteria arguing about whose fault some unknown conflict was. No one paid them any attention. No one had no idea about the true nature of their relationship, not even Tom or Emily.

DW smiled to herself. "Perfect."

* * *

"Smoke?" Molly held the thin cigarette out to her friend. Prunella nodded eagerly and pulled out her lighter. Taking a long drag, she smiled in pleasure and then began coughing harshly.

"You alright?" Molly asked with real concern in her eyes.

Prunella nodded, getting the last coughs out of her system before she took another drag. "What with my parents making me study non stop for those damned SATs, I haven't had time for a smoke in weeks."

Molly nodded knowingly, then grew quiet. "You never told me why things at your house changed so dramatically."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, one day you and your sister were giving psychic readings in the park, the next your parents are screaming for law school. What happened?"

Prunella pulled awkwardly at her denim jacket, thought for a moment, then began her story.

"After Rubella announced she was going to spend a year studying fortune telling with a band of gypsies, my parents were less than enthusiastic. Rubella got on the caravan and drove off, already with her first customer. Then, six months later, she came back home...and she was pregnant. Turned out her real reason for leaving was because of some guy she was seeing. She thought they were going to get married, but he ditched as soon as he found out about the baby. My parents refused to help her, even blacklisted her from the family. They blame the fortune telling stuff she was doing. They warned me not to continue with psychic practices 'or else'. And here we are." Prunella paused to take a drag of her cigarette. She breathed out very slowly, apparently lost in thought. "That's my story."

Molly was quiet. "Wow. You know, I always figured that you were rebelling for some stupid reason like a secret boyfriend or something but that's deep stuff Prue, seriously. But you know..." She took a breath. "You shouldn't give up on your dreams just because of what your parents think. So just...don't give up, okay?"

"What do you mean?" Prunella's brow crinkled.

"I mean, it's not too late for you." Molly looked down at the ground below and took a breath. Tentatively, she placed her hand on top of Prunella's. "It's not too late for your to turn your life around."

Prunella smiled and squeezed Molly's hand. "Thanks Molly, that's some pretty good advice."

She blushed, then elbowed her friend playfully. "Don't go soft on me now!" They laughed and stared out over the junk yard, both deep in thought.

* * *

"Hey, did you hear about Emily?" Tom grinned with gleeful wickedness.

DW frowned. Any gossip about Emily should have reached her first - Emily was her best friend after all. "No, what's up?"

He gestured for her to follow him. They walked out of the lunchroom and into the yard. The back area of the school had been turned into a makeshift playground with a slide, a jungle gym, and a few tire swings. There was even an old lean-to shed set up in the corner of the field.

"I don't get it," DW stated, starting to walk further into the field. "What am I supposed to be seeing?" Two sets of hands pulled her roughly down into a cluster of leafy bushes.

She was about to protest but the boys each slapped a hand over her mouth, shook their heads, and pointed to the shed.

A dog boy stuck his head out and said, "Did you hear something?" DW held her breath in fear he would hear her.

A girl's voice called, "There's no one out there. Forget the outside, and come back in." The boy disappeared in the blink of an eye.

DW looked at the Tibbles, frowning in confusion. She found them watching the shed intently, binoculars up. "Hey, give me one!" she hissed. Without looking up, Tom handed her a pair. She pressed them to her eyes and almost fell over. Tim, seeing her distress, placed his hand on the small of her back. She normally would have given him a shy smile, but was too distracted at the moment to care about either Tibble.

With the binoculars, she had a much enlarged view of the interior of the shed. A small table with a rickety chair were pushed into the far corner. It looked dirty, and the light leaked through in stripes from the cracks between the boards. Two people stood facing each other, the dog boy and a bunny girl with short blonde hair - Emily. As the horrified DW, Tim, and Tom (Well, maybe just the first two) watched,the figures inside the shed started kissing, getting more and more into it until they were pressed against the wall. It was like a bad reality TV show - You resent it completely, yet you can't tear your eyes away. The show ended with the dazed dog fishing out a five and dropping it into the girl's outstretched hand before stumbling out of the shed.

After the boy was gone, the spying trio snuck back into the cafeteria. They all sat down together to discuss what they had just seen.

"I just can't believe it!" DW exclaimed. "How could she…why would she…ugh!" She shuddered. "It's just so gross."

Tim shook his head in disappointment. "What I can't believe is how much she's changed. Remember when she was the good girl, the model student? And now this…"

Tom took a swig of soda. "Since I was the one to first find out, why don't you let me give you the low down?" They nodded. "Okay, here are the facts: Emily is running her own business out of the shed, calling it Kisses for Kash. But most people are calling it 'Emily's Corner.' She handed a couple business cards out during algebra class and I got her info from it. A dollar is 'Standard,' five is 'Deluxe,' and fifteen is called 'VIP.' The fine print said it would require an appointment."

Tim made a face. "This is so messed up. VIP? I don't even want to think about what she's offering there."

"Why would she do that? Her family is pretty well off, she doesn't need the money. I just don't get it." DW frowned sadly.

"So you were the spies!" All whipped around to see Emily standing there, hands on her hips, fuming. "For your information, I'm doing this for a lot of reasons. And you should back off, before something bad happens!"

* * *

"Thank you all!" Fern smiled at the friendly audience. The crowd in the coffee house cheered and shouted for an encore. She looked back at Arthur, who gave her a thumbs up. Smiling, she turned back to the audience and began to sing a sweet ballad about a true love going off to sea. Arthur launched right into the song, his fingers playing the old upright piano with a tender touch that only he could achieve. She smiled in spite of the sad song. He was an amazing partner to have.

After their set was finished, the two young performers grabbed coffees and sat in a corner booth to enjoy the other performances. These open mic nights had become a weekly tradition of theirs, a tradition Fern very much looked forward to.

"You were great Fern, as usual!" Arthur grinned at her, pushing his glasses up on his nose a bit.

She blushed. "Thanks, you're not so bad yourself." They stayed in the shop for a while, enjoying each other's company and the various performers until it came time to go home.

"Bye Arthur," Fern called from her front porch. "See you later."

"Good night." He smiled back, hands stuffed into his jacket pockets. "Sweet dreams." And with that, he walked away. Fern closed the door behind her quietly. He never wished her a good night, much less a "sweet dreams!" Could it mean something? Boys were confusing. She sighed. A mountain of homework awaited her upstairs, and she still had to clean up from dinner...it was going to be a long night.

* * *

"Rattles." He turned to see a curvy girl with long red hair standing at the street corner, decked out in more ice than a jewelry store.

He smirked. "You need something, Princess?"

Muffy had been a customer of his for a while now. It wasn't unusual for them to meet like this. It seemed like they had run into each other randomly, but Rattles knew. He knew she came looking for him, because she knew he wouldn't come looking for her. She calculated where he would be and when, made her predictions, then dressed up real pretty so she could feel fancy waiting for him in the not so nice parts of Elwood City.

She stepped closer, close enough to run a hand down his arm flirtatiously. In a soft, sultry tone, she murmured, "I need more. And...I have an offer for you."

Rattles picked at his teeth with a toothpick, doing his best to look as uninterested as possible. "Oh yeah? Well before I give you anything, I'm going to need some sort of payment for my merchandise. You still owe me, Princess."

Muffy groaned and rolled her eyes, her sultry persona gone in an instant. "I told you, next month's allowance is yours!"

"Next month ain't good enough. What about all those fancy jewels of yours?"

She shook her head stubbornly. "No way. But what about another form of payment?"

"Depends." He looked down at her. "What kind you talking about?"

Muffy came closer and whispered, "Friday night, you and me. Anything you want." She winked. "And I do mean anything."

He gulped and willed the blush in his cheeks to go away before Muffy noticed. "Sounds reasonable. So what's this mysterious offer? Or was that it?"

Muffy stepped away, suddenly all business. She pulled out a bundle of pink envelopes with stickers on them along with cursive writing. "These are official invitations to my party on Saturday, for you, your friends, and any other "associates" you may want to bring. If you get my meaning."

Rattles raised an eyebrow at her and threw his toothpick away. "Let me get this straight. You're asking me to bring my nobody stoner friends, plus a bunch of dealers, to party?"

She sighed with impatience. "We're not kids anymore! This is my first big party of the year, and I want to take things up a notch. And your kind of people are just who I need to make my party stand out. So are you in or out?"

Rattles gave her a sidelong grin. "What do you think?"

* * *

**That's all, folks! Hope you enjoyed, tell me what you thought through reviews or PMs, it really does make my day to hear from readers like you. Thank you.**


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